Tournament was more revolution than evolution for its co-hosts and signalled a step change in the reordering of Australia’s priorities for football and women’s sport
“Please have your tickets ready, and have a good night,” said the usher through his megaphone outside Sydney’s Stadium Australia before the final. “And go Spain.”
For that volunteer, and many millions of Australians, the 2023 World Cup was close to perfect. Perfect, for many, would have been the Australia captain, Sam Kerr – and not Spain’s Olga Carmona – lifting the trophy. But in this country football has been associated with failure, blunder or – worst of all – being ignored. This tournament was something else entirely.
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